The Real Deal
by wintergreen825
Summary: They had settled into life together, and now they were taking the next step.


**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** So, yeah, labor when you're autistic is just plain _weird_. In fact, the whole experience of pregnancy is. You get to glide through a lot of the issues that neurotypical people have but like, dozens of other things pop up in their place. There really does need to be a "what to expect" book for just autistic child-bearers. How Luna reacts to labor in here? It's exactly how I did to going into labor with my first child. Oh, yeah, I should probably mention that as usual, both Harry & Luna are autistic in this.

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A (FPC; Star; T3; BAON; Fence; Spring Bingo; Shipping War)  
**Individual Challenges:** In a Flash (N); Click Bait It (Y); Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux (Y); Ravenclaw MC (N); Gryffindor MC (N); Slytherin MC (N); Ethnic & Present (N); Neurodivergent (N); Quiet Time (N)  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 10 – Assignment 7  
**Subject (Task No.):** Arithmancy (Task #2: Write about a big change in someone's life.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** 365 Words [8](Moment); Insane Prompt Challenge [979](The Real Deal); Scavenger Hunt [78](Write a triad.) Constellation Club [Columba](Eta Columbae: Blaise Zabini); April Auction [1.2] ("Are you ready?"/"No."/"Me neither.")  
**Space Address (Prompt):** 3B (Yellow)  
**Representation(s):** Autistic Luna Lovegood; Autistic Harry Potter; Luna/Harry/Blaise; Growing Family; Little Secrets  
**Bonus Challenges: **Machismo; Bee Haven; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Second Verse (Not a Lamp; Persistence Still); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi)  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** T3 (Terse; Tether)  
**Word Count:** 893

(^^)  
**The Real Deal**  
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"Don't forget the bag from the closet in the front hall," Luna reminded them serenely from her spot in the armchair closest to the fireplace. Harry looked up from his book. Her banana yellow hair looked even brighter in the growing dimness caused by the sun starting to dip behind the buildings outside the library's window. She did not look like she had just said anything at all, which did sometimes happen while she was mediating as she had been. Not understanding the non sequitur and more than ready to just let it go, Harry tilted his head back to see if Blaise had any better idea what Luna meant.

They had been enjoying a quiet evening at home, something their schedules rarely allowed for the three of them to enjoy together. Harry had decided to take full advantage of having Blaise home for once, leaning against the other man as they had stretched out on the couch in the upstairs library. Blaise had been playing with Harry's hair while doing his cat-like dozing thing. Now Blaise was bemusedly looking at Luna. Then he took a deep breath and went stiff beneath Harry.

"Now?" Blaise asked, his voice uncharacteristically worried. Harry looked back at Luna, just barely catching the grimace she quickly managed to hide as she pressed one hand against her rounded belly. Luna hissed out a breath before answering Blaise's question with a nod. Harry instantly shot up, dropping his book and elbowing Blaise in the gut in the same motion. Blaise reached for him, but Harry was already running out of the room towards the aforementioned hall closet.

Winky met him at the top of the stairs with the bright yellow bag that Luna had spent the last month carefully packing and repacking to make certain that it was ready for this moment. He thanked her as he took it from her, barely noticing the flushing of her cheeks as she accepted the courtesy without trying to correct him as she would have not that long ago.

If anyone was happier than the three of them to be expecting their first child, it would be Winky. Harry had found her during the reconstruction of Hogwarts and offered her a place in his little makeshift household, which had driven the little elf to grateful hysterics worthy of the late Dobby. That had been enough to keep Harry from giving into Hermione's lectures about forced slavery, especially when Winky's health (both mental and physical) improved rapidly after she had bonded with the Potter family. When Luna had gotten pregnant, Winky had immediately perked up even more at the news of potentially having young child to care for again.

House elf social dynamics were still something that they were all still learning, but apparently being a nanny awarded special status among other house elves, right below the leaders of a house elf conclave. Winky's depression had stemmed not only from being suddenly cut off from the magic that all elves got from being bonded with a family but also from the sudden social shift she had experienced from going from such a high position to less than outsider.

Luna was currently writing a paper on house elves, something with which both Winky and Kreacher were surprisingly happy to assist. Kreacher's mood had also improved since Luna had taken over much of his orders. He had even consented to helping remove Walburga's portrait from the entrance hall. Turns out that house elves were a lot like humans in that they had their own culture complete with social hierarchy and physical needs. It was just different from most human cultures due to the odd little fact that house elves were (shockingly enough) _not human_.

Who would have thought it?

By the time that Harry retrieved the bag, Blaise had gotten Luna to her feet and was pulling the box with the Portkey to St. Mungo's off the mantle. Harry could see the odd ripples of magic that meant Blaise was struggling to keep his wings from unfurling from the hidden space they existed in otherwise. It was an instinct to wrap his mate in the protective shelter of his wings, even when the threat wasn't something that doing so would have any impact again. Harry still crowded close to his bondmates to embrace them both at once, taking care as always to keep the arm on Luna slightly above the skin.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked, leaning his forehead against Blaise's chest while resting his chin on Luna's shoulder. Despite her normal aversion to being held, Luna pressed against both of them. Harry felt her stomach ripple with tension as she breathed through another contraction.

"No," she whimpered when it had passed. Blaise bussed the tops of both their heads.

"Me neither," Blaise agreed.

Harry heard a pair of sighs from the doorway. Winky was there with the biggest grin that Harry had ever seen her wear. Her hands were wrapped around each other and pressed against her little chest. Beside her, Kreacher looked even more like a grumpy old man. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose, like his humans were physically paining him. Then he twirled one bony finger. The Portkey box obediently opened.

Just as the Portkey activated, Harry heard Kreacher mutter loudly, "_humans_," as if the word was an insult.


End file.
